Cristiano Ronaldo criticizes pre-season under Rafa Benitez

– Cristiano Ronaldo hails phenomenal Zidane but dissed Rafa Benitez who has left the club 
– Benitez was sacked after just 25 games in charge of the capital club
– Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Espanyol to draw level with Luis Suarez at the top of La Liga scoring charts
Cristiano Ronaldo has taken a swipe at Rafa Benitez while hailing Zinedane Zidane as phenomenal after Real Madrid defeated Espanyol 6 – 0 on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal for Real Madrid

The 30 year old Portuguese  criticised the Spaniard’s methods in pre-season saying the team too many trips which was not good for the team.
Benitez was sacked by Madrid late last year and replaced with Zidane who has collected 10 points from four games netting an impressive 17 goals in the process.
Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Espanyol to take his La Liga tally in 2015-16 to 19 goals and speaking after the match, he hailed the new coach.
“We needed to work harder. Me and the whole team. Now we have a positive mentality,” the Portugal captain said.

“The pre-season was not good, there were a lot of trips. Zizou arrived with a different idea and we have to keep working this way.”
“Against Espanyol we played well and we won. The team relaxed a little with the scoreline in our favour, but we felt good.
“Against Betis, it was a very intense clash. Today we lowered our rhythm, but we played well.”
Ronaldo also suggested his side could overtake Atletico Madrid and Barcelona who are ahead of Madrid on La Liga standings.
He added: “We don’t need to think about Barcelona or Atleti. 
“They are playing well. We have to work harder because there is a long way to go. We are a little behind but we’ll see at the end.”
“We will see what happens when they arrive. There are no easy rivals. I don’t believe in easy games.”
Madrid’s win over Espanyol puts them one point behind Atletico Madrid. Atletico lost to Barcelona over the weekend as the Catalans opened a three point lead at the top of the table with one game in hand.